American Pacific expands trade IT program

By Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, 5/12/2003 12:00:00 AM

KIRKLAND, WA —

Global Trading Systems has announced that San Francisco-based American Pacific will expand the implementation of its TradeIT software solution with the addition of three more modules to improve teamwork and management of product development worldwide.

"It's product lifecycle management from concept to retirement," said Janet Kelley Amico, director, Global Trading Systems. "We're giving them a collaborative community environment in which to work."

AP implemented the online, Internet-based sourcing manager of TradeIT, tailored to the home textiles industry, in 1999. The module allows immediate visibility of production orders at any of AP's offices in China, Pakistan, India and Turkey, as well as its distribution center in Ohio.

The new portion of the system allows AP's offices to collaborate on specifications, samples and other functions on-line rather than e-mailing, resulting in reduced cycle time and product development costs, she said, and increased accuracy.

"Timeliness, quality and price are crucial to our continued success, so making sure that product designs, material information and product approvals ripple effectively through our organization is vital," said Greg Block, ceo, AP.